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Topic: Review - Google Glass (Read 6178 times)

So I happened to get the first pair on the West Coast which was fun, and have been using this new device for about two weeks. Focusing on the camera aspect, I'm finding it takes remarkably good pictures and video, and I think I know why. One, there's no zoom, so no crummy plastic zoom lens hunting around. Two, it sits on the best tripod you have - your head. By best I mean the most readily available, convenient and stable. It even auto-tracks your subject?

Anyhow it beats the hell out of using a cell phone camera, but the video and stills aren't as good as my S100. But when you add in the stability and orders of magnitude better convenience it's a winner. It's my new go-to for snapshots and videos.

At any rate if you could get up the effort to do a search you'll see I've been posting here about Glass and saying I'll get it and do a review. I just didn't know I'd be the first.

And please no more droll comments about f8, extenders etc ... this is a new type of camera technology, if you want to strap a 24-105 to your head be my guest.

Thanks for posting, Ignore the trolls.

As to stability, can you explain a little more without giving away any trade secrets? I always believed that people move their eyes at a very fast speed to give stable vision, and that some IS is also built into our brain. Is the stability just based on holding one's head still?

That is the interesting thing about this, the shots I'm getting from Glass are far better than I expected. The head/tripod idea is just a thought as to why this would be. When taking video I have to be careful not to pan my head too fast, we do that faster than people are comfortable viewing. But for stills I and others have done side by side comparisons with DSLR's and found them to be quite good, taking into consideration sensor size, etc.

No trade secrets, the device is in the wild now. By stability I just mean that something on your head is going to be more stable than a iPhone camera in your hand cantilevered out from your body at the end of your arm.

From a convenience standpoint it's no comparison, I'm getting about 60 shots a day with it easily whereas before I'd be lucky to get 60 a week with a regular camera. And I'm getting better, more candid shots. Check this out

I was getting interviewed by the WSJ on this one. Technically it's not the best shot, if I had a DSLR with a circ polarizer and flash it would be better. But I never would have gotten those expressions - I was being interviewed.

So here's another thought - this may be the fantastic street camera.. Why? Nobody knows you're taking a shot. I'm a terrible candid and street photog but with Glass I'm getting some really good and interesting shots.

I was getting interviewed by the WSJ on this one. Technically it's not the best shot, if I had a DSLR with a circ polarizer and flash it would be better. But I never would have gotten those expressions - I was being interviewed.

So here's another thought - this may be the fantastic street camera.. Why? Nobody knows you're taking a shot. I'm a terrible candid and street photog but with Glass I'm getting some really good and interesting shots.

Interesting! I'm getting up there in years, but still appreciate and learn about new technology.

As I recall, you were a contractor involved with the software end of it. I find it exciting to have someone posting at CR who is involved.

Why not contract Craig (CR Guy) about a article for the CR Reviews page. I'm sure he would be interesting in posting a in depth review of the camera.

Along those lines...I often find myself wondering how a particular scene was shot in a film and enjoy watching a documentary showing how it was done. I'm not talking special effects type scenes, just those that make you wonder "How did they do that?" Glass would seem to be a useful tool for that type of work.

Thanks for sharing FunPhotons. I did follow a couple of EnGadget's videos of the Google Glass and can see it has potential.

Could you tell us a little more about them, apart from the camera. What are they like to wear, what do the weigh, what are your thoughts on the security issue (anyone can pick them up and use them), how is it to read an email on them, what apps are you using? That sort of thing.